Wu Letong felt a twinge of disappointment.
This newcomer had his own ideas, but he wasn’t careful enough—he had overlooked another crucial point.
He reminded them, “You forgot—there’s someone else who came into the village with us.”
The delicate girl froze, thinking of Ji Xiu’s gentle, handsome face, and found it hard to believe. “Isn’t he a local? Or Mrs. Wang’s husband? Why would the villagers fear him?”
“Exactly because he is Mrs. Wang’s husband that he seems suspicious. You need to understand one important rule: the game doesn’t send you to irrelevant places. Since it requires us to stay at Mrs. Wang’s house, whatever is going on must be related to her family.”
It made sense. The delicate girl fell silent, her face thoughtful.
Wu Letong asked if anyone else had ideas. Everyone liked him and spoke up, but they only added small points to his thoughts, nothing new.
Even Wu Letong’s goddess had nothing useful to contribute.
He felt slightly disappointed. Considering the game had only just begun, it was normal that the newcomers couldn’t figure it out, so he didn’t press further and stood up, leading everyone downstairs.
In the yard, the young man who had entered the village with them, Ji Xiu, was whispering to Wang QiuYue. The couple seemed very affectionate.
Seeing them come downstairs, Wang QiuYue’s cheeks reddened slightly. She paused, a little embarrassed, and greeted them, “Have you finished putting away your things?”
“Yes, all done.”
Because of Wu Letong’s earlier words, everyone felt that Wang QiuYue and Ji Xiu were suspicious and dared not speak to them. Wu Letong had no choice but to go forward alone.
He smiled and said, “Mrs. Wang, you know we’re here on a trip. We’d like to ask if there’s anything fun to see nearby.”
Wang QiuYue smiled. “Don’t call me Mrs. Wang. Call me QiuYue from now on. Our village is small—there’s nothing remarkable. Only at the back mountain is the Goddess Peak. It’s somewhat unique; you can go see it.”
“Goddess Peak? How do we get there?”
Wang QiuYue pointed to the river running through the village. “Follow the river downstream. There’s a deep pool, and next to it is Goddess Peak.”
Wu Letong felt something was odd. He couldn’t recall why, but he nodded, pretending not to think much and casually asked, “Does Goddess Peak have any interesting stories?”
Ji Xiu, lowering his gaze while picking through a basket, replied, “Nothing special. It’s just high up—you can see the whole village from there.”
Wu Letong said nothing. “I see, thank you. We’ll go have a look now.”
He didn’t believe Ji Xiu’s words for a second. A place specifically mentioned by an NPC could never be so simple.
Ji Xiu glanced at him, indifferent. “Go ahead. Come back early for breakfast.”
Wu Letong felt a twinge of annoyance and led the group on.
As they walked, someone questioned why they needed to ask the NPC about this. The mission only required them to survive ten days—why not just stay at Wang QiuYue’s house and wait it out?
Wu Letong sneered. “Are you daydreaming?!”
Suppressing his anger, he explained the game’s rules to the clueless newcomers.
From the first day they entered the mission world, the ghosts awakened and began to kill.
At this point, their abilities were weak. A ghost could perhaps kill only one person a day, or only if the player triggered a killing condition. But over time, the ghost’s powers would gradually strengthen. By the final day, the ghost could kill indiscriminately, and they would be wiped out instantly.
Before that, they had to find a way to survive, avoid the killing conditions, and stay alive.
Wu Letong’s cold eyes swept across everyone. “Any objections now?”
“No,” everyone shook their heads, intimidated by his anger.
Wu Letong withdrew his gaze and said coldly, “Follow me!”
At Goddess Peak, they scattered to search for anything suspicious. After an hour, they found nothing. After lunch, they continued. A whole day passed, yet no useful clues appeared.
Everyone was exhausted.
Wu Letong frowned. “Let’s go back. We’ll continue tomorrow.”
Everyone felt like he was unreliable. They were angry but dared not speak out.
Back at the Ji residence, Wang QiuYue was arranging dishes in the yard. “There are too many of you; there’s no room inside. Let’s eat in the yard.”
The players were too tired to argue and nodded.
But seeing the dinner laid out, they were stunned.
The meal was pitiful—just rice and two dry, oilless vegetable dishes.
The middle-aged man glanced at it and scowled. “What is this dog food? Is this all you’re giving us?”
Wang QiuYue’s expression darkened. “This is all we have. I told you when you booked your stay.”
The man slammed down his chopsticks and stormed off.
“I’m done. I’m going to sleep. Don’t bother me.”
Wang QiuYue froze, unsure what to do.
At that moment, Ji Chunsheng, having finished his homework, came out with a village dog. Passing the middle-aged man, the man kicked the dog violently. “Get out of the way, you mutt!”
The dog yelped pitifully and shrank under Ji Chunsheng’s feet.
Ji Chunsheng froze, glancing from the poor dog to the man.
The man, eyes full of disdain, sneered, “Kid, what are you staring at? We’re guests in your house—are you going to get in trouble for a dog?”
Ji Chunsheng silently stepped aside, holding the dog softly. “Da Huang…”
The family needed money. He couldn’t afford to offend the guests.
The man strode upstairs triumphantly.
The next moment, Ji Xiu came out and kicked him in the stomach.
The man flew back, landing in the yard with a crash, stirring dust everywhere.
Ji Xiu stood on the steps, towering over him, eyes cold. “You’re not welcome here. Leave.”
Even with enhanced strength, the man was in agony, unable to make a sound.
He clutched his stomach, seething, yet knowing he could not win, glared at Wu Letong.
Wu Letong’s face paled. He had never liked this man, and had deliberately done nothing while he courted disaster, even hoping to use the man’s death to find and avoid killing conditions.
But he hadn’t expected Ji Xiu, the NPC, to appear and chase them out.
The mission required staying at Wang QiuYue’s house for seven days—no moving around.
He now regretted not stopping the man earlier. Being dragged into this nonsense would be unfair.
Thirty seconds of silence passed. Ji Xiu’s eyes left the man. “You can stay, but he must leave.”
“Fine, no problem. Thank you, sir.”
Wu Letong exhaled, thanked Ji Xiu, and turned back to glare at the middle-aged man.
This trash nearly got them killed.
…
The middle-aged man’s first world was a zombie mission.
He had accidentally found a safe spot and hid everyone there, successfully escaping and earning the newcomers’ admiration.
In the second world, he was still basking in that glory when Wu Letong suddenly appeared.
After three missions, Wu Letong was stronger and better, immediately earning everyone’s loyalty and taking the initiative.
The man was enraged. Wu Letong looked down on him, cold and disdainful, not intervening when he got hurt.
He scowled, clutching his stomach, “Wu Letong, fine, you’re strong. Don’t ever come to me. If I find a clue, I won’t share it with you or your trashy friends!”
He left, miserable and embarrassed.
Wu Letong’s eyes stayed calm, watching him go as if he were watching a corpse.
In horror movies, those who leave the main group are always the first to die. This man, having ignored the mission’s instructions, wouldn’t survive the night.
Good. Early in the game, only one person dies per day. With him gone, the rest would survive safely.
…
Ji Xiu paid no attention to the departing man. He crouched, gently feeling the dog Da Huang’s belly.
The dog whimpered pitifully.
Ji Xiu patted its head. “Hang in there.”
This world was strange—ordinary yet allowing internal energy. Over the past three months, Ji Xiu had been unable to enter and had trained in the “Pre-Heaven Heart Method.”
He channeled energy through his palms, gently dispersing the dog’s bruising.
If left untreated, Da Huang wouldn’t survive a few days, like last time when it had lain under the stairs for days, bleeding and dying in Ji Chunsheng’s arms.
After dispersing the bruises, Ji Xiu placed Da Huang in the straw bed downstairs.
Ji Chunsheng followed. “Dad, what happened to Da Huang?”
“Da Huang is injured. Needs a few days to heal. No running around for now.”
Ji Chunsheng froze, looking back at the middle-aged man’s departing direction, anger flaring. “Was it that man who kicked him? I’ll make him apologize.”
Ji Xiu ignored it, placing Da Huang carefully. “Take care of him for now; once he recovers, we’ll go hunting. He’ll make a great hunting dog.”
Ji Chunsheng’s eyes lit up. “Can I come too?”
“Of course,” Ji Xiu said, smiling warmly. “For now, help Da Huang recover. Then we hunt together.”
“Dad, you’re the best!” Ji Chunsheng clapped, then crouched, patting the dog. “Da Huang, did you hear? Dad says you’re a good dog.”
Da Huang weakly responded with a couple of small sounds.
Ji Chunsheng murmured, filled with concern, “Don’t worry, I’ll avenge you…”
…
With Da Huang settled, Ji Xiu and Ji Chunsheng returned to the yard for dinner.
The players were polite and cautious, no one wanting to repeat the middle-aged man’s mistake.
Ji Xiu helped Wang QiuYue clean up. “You must be sweaty from the trip. If anyone wants to bathe, I’ve prepared a big pot of hot water.”
In all horror movies, bathrooms are dangerous.
The men quickly refused; unfamiliar and high-risk, they didn’t want to go.
But the girls, hot and sweaty after the day, couldn’t wait.
They quietly agreed to bathe together for safety and approached Ji Xiu.
He nodded. “I’ve prepared the water. Bring it to the bathroom yourselves.”
“Thank you, sir.” Lu Zhizhen smiled gratefully.
She was fair-skinned, bright-eyed, a beauty even if not as striking as Wang QiuYue.
Wang QiuYue lowered her eyes, slowing her dish-cleaning.
Lu Zhizhen shivered slightly, but didn’t think much of it, and went to the bathroom with Huang Wenli, the delicate fifteen-year-old girl who had quickly become close to her.
They stripped, standing back-to-back, and began washing. Steam blurred their vision.
Then, strands of damp, foul-smelling black hair appeared at the edge of the bathroom, crawling slowly, as if alive, inching toward Lu Zhizhen…
Join the discussion
Log in to comment.